Graffiti to aware people on coronavirus in New DelhiThe Union Health Ministry on Monday launched a web portal that will provide all important information on COVID-19, vaccine development, ongoing clinical trials and progress made in this area locally and globally. The ‘vaccine web portal’ and the ‘National Clinical Registry for COVID-19’ have been developed by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and was launched by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, according to a health ministry statement.
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Global Covid-19 cases topped 33 million as infections in India reached the 6 million mark. The official death toll from Covid-19 neared one million, though experts say the real tally may be almost double that. As many as 9.96 lakh have succumbed to the infection across the globe.
India’s coronavirus tally on Monday crossed the 60-lakh mark after 82,170 new cases were reported across the country. As many as 1039 deaths were reported in the past 24 hours, pushing the toll to 95,542. Of the 60,74,703 cases, India currently has 9,62,640 active cases, while 5,01,6521 people have been discharged. Globally, India has the second-highest number of coronavirus cases, behind the United States where infections crossed 7 million last week. India, however, topped the global chart in terms of virus recoveries.
South Korea reported the fewest cases in seven weeks as it brings its latest outbreak under control. Australia’s prime minister urged the removal of further curbs after Melbourne eased its curfew. The U.K. is preparing to enforce a social lockdown across much of northern Britain and potentially London amid a second wave, the Times of London reported
A mother helps her child to wear mask in Chandigarh (Express Photo by Kamleshwar Singh)
Former Union minister and senior BJP leader Uma Bharti, who tested positive for COVID-19 recently, was on Monday admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rishikesh. Ever since the senior BJP leader tweeted about her testing positive for the infection late on Saturday night, the AIIMS management had made arrangements, Madhur Uniyal, in-charge of COVID cases at the AIIMS, said. Her condition is stable, the official said. PTI
Some 120 million rapid diagnostic tests for COVID-19 will be made available to low- and middle-income countries over a period of six months and will be priced at a maximum of $5 per unit, the World Health Organization said on Monday.The tests provide reliable results in just 15 minutes, the WHO's Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, told a news conference in Geneva. (Reuters)
The High Court of Tripura Monday asked the state for details of steps taken to implement recommendations by a National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) team that surveyed its COVID-19 response.
The three-member team was in the state this month on a 10-day tour, in which it visited several hospitals and other locations. Its findings were submitted to the government, which gave it to the High Court for perusal. Earlier this month, the High Court had admitted a suo motu case, taking cognizance of media reports on the alleged plight of COVID-19 patients in Tripura.
Advocate General Arun Kanti Bhowmik said the government would submit the affidavit on October 5.
The division bench of Chief Justice AK Kureshi and Justice Subhashish Talapatra also asked why COVID testing had been stopped at Maharaja Bir Bikram (MBB) airport and railway stations, to which the counsel replied that the cost of such testing was deemed unviable, since fresh positivity rate among passengers was found to be less than 1 per cent.
However, the HC asked the state to consider alternative testing venues. The court also instructed the government to form a team of senior doctors and administrators who would monitor COVID treatment at hospitals. Debraj Deb
The Jammu and Kashmir administration has so far brought back more than 5 lakh residents of the Union territory stranded in other parts of the country due to the COVID-19 lockdown, official data showed. As many as 5,13,157 residents of Jammu and Kashmir, who were stranded in other parts of the country, have been brought back home through trains and buses amid strict observance of all necessary COVID guidelines and standard operating procedures, it said. (PTI)
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu Monday hinted that the state will reopen for tourists after the month of October, PTI reported. While attending a virtual event organised by the central government, Khandu said the tourism sector has suffered a lot in the last six months due to the COVID-19 pandemic which affected the livelihood of thousands of people and dented the state's revenue.
The condition of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who is suffering from COVID-19 and dengue, is much better and he is likely to be discharged from hospital in the next few days, officials said on Monday. Sources at the Max hospital also said that he is doing better. Sisodia, 48, was shifted to the hospital in Saket on Thursday evening, considering his 'falling' blood platelet count and low oxygen level. (PTI)
The Union Health Ministry on Monday launched a web portal that will provide all important information on COVID-19, vaccine development, ongoing clinical trials and progress made in this area locally and globally. The ‘vaccine web portal’ and the ‘National Clinical Registry for COVID-19’ have been developed by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and was launched by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, according to a health ministry statement.
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan Monday said the government has decided to call an all-party meeting tomorrow to discuss the COVID-19 situation in the state, reported news agency ANI. The meeting will be held via video conference. Kerala reported 4,538 new Covid-19 cases, 3,347 recovered cases & 20 deaths today, taking the total number of positive cases in the state till date to 1,79,922, including 57,879 cases & 697 deaths. The test positivity rate is 12.59%. (Photo: ANI)
Former Chief Minister of Gujarat Keshubhai Patel (92) has recovered from Covid-19 and discharged from Sterling Hospital in Ahmedaad on Monday. Patel had tested positive on September 18 after which he was shifted to the hospital for treatment. He had got himself tested after two of his personal staff members had tested positive.
Patel’s family was worried since he had earlier undergone a bypass surgery and is also suffering from prostate cancer. On Monday, Patel’s son Bharat said, “He (Keshubhai) has recovered and discharged from the hospital after all his tests returned normal today.”
The Maharashtra government has agreed to allow restaurant owners in the state to provide dine-in service from the first week of October. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray made the promise to a delegation of restaurant owners from Pune at a meeting held in Mumbai. The meeting was attended by Chief Secretary Sitaram Kunte and Excise Secretary Valsa Nair Singh. Apart from representatives of Pune restaurant owners association, those from Mumbai and Nagpur too participated in the meet.
'We had a fruitful meeting with CM Uddhav Thackeray and his team about reopening of dine-in facility at the restaurants. The CM has assured us that the restaurant will be allowed to provide the service from October first week. He has asked us to ensure that the standard operating procedure (SOP) required to be followed by the restaurants are strictly being adhered to and safety of the patrons is not compromised,' said Ganesh Shetty, President of Pune Restaurant and Hoteliers' Association (PRAHA). Sources in the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said that the government has prepared an SOP for the restaurants to follow.
One more patient succumbed to coronavirus in Ladakh, taking the death toll to 58 in the Union Territory, while the infection tally reached 4,103 with 10 fresh cases, officials said on Monday. Fourteen patients were discharged after being cured of the contagion during the past 24 hours, they said. With the death of one more patient from COVID-19 in Kargil district, the total number of fatalities in Ladakh has gone up to 58 -- 34 in Kargil and 24 in Leh district. (PTI)
Malaysia on Monday said it will impose strict movement restrictions in four districts in its largest palm oil producing state Sabah after reporting more than 1,000 coronavirus infections there in September. Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said as part of efforts to contain the outbreak, non-essential businesses in Lahad Datu, Tawau, Kunak and Semporna district will be required to shut down starting Tuesday for a period of 14 days.The partial lockdown comes amid a recent surge of coronavirus infections in Malaysia and concerns that a state-wide election that concluded on Saturday will exacerbate the outbreak. Sabah accounts for 25% of the crude palm oil produced in the world's second-largest exporter.Malaysia has reported a total of 9,835 infections, including 134 deaths, as of Sunday.
As many as 76,768 police personnel all over the country including paramilitary forces such as CRPF, CISF, BSF and NSG tested positive for COVID-19 while 401 succumbed to the killer virus, according to a report by the Bureau of Police Research and Development. The report (compiledtill August 21) titled "Indian Police Response to COVID-19 Crisis" said, Maharashtra topped the chart with 129 deaths due to COVID-19 and 12,760 positive cases among the police personnel. Telangana was in second place with 40 deaths due to the virus.
Global Covid-19 cases topped 33 million as infections in India reached the 6 million mark. The official death toll from Covid-19 neared one million, though experts say the real tally may be almost double that. As many as 9.96 lakh have succumbed to the infection across the globe.
The Philippines cannot be complacent amid the slowdown in the spread of the coronavirus as clusters of infections still remain while critical cases have marginally increased, health authorities said. Reforms to centralize hospital command and intensify tracking and isolation helped cut back new infections and decongest health facilities this month, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a virtual briefing. President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to decide on Monday whether to extend or ease quarantine measures, which are due to end on Sept. 30.
President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to decide on Monday whether to extend or ease quarantine measures, which are due to end on September 30.
The British government is mulling tougher restrictions in England to tackle a swiftly accelerating second wave of the novel coronavirus outbreak, possibly outlawing more inter-household socialising, a junior health minister said on Monday. "We don't want to bring on new restrictions but of course we keep a constant eye on what is going on with the COVID rate," Junior Health Minister Helen Whately told Sky News. "We were looking at what we might be able to do." "This is the moment when we have an opportunity - we have a choice for the country - to get this back under control," Whately said. "We have to break these chains of transmission."
China's capital called on importers on Monday to shun frozen food from countries suffering from severe novel coronavirus outbreaks after several cases of imported seafood products testing positive for the virus. "Customs and local governments have repeatedly detected the coronavirus in imported cold chain food, proving it risks contamination," the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau said in a statement issued to import companies.
The bureau urged them to closely monitor the overseas pandemic situation and "proactively avoid importing cold chain food from areas heavily hit by the coronavirus" and make alternative plans for imports. It had also asked companies to improve their warning and reporting mechanisms and tell authorities quickly if products tested positive.
China had reported no local infections of the coronavirus for more than a month but recently detected it on the packaging of imported aquatic products in Jilin province and Qingdao city. China this month suspended imports from seafood producers in Brazil, Indonesia and Russia for a week or more.
Goa's Director General of Police Mukesh Kumar Meena on Monday tested positive for coronavirus infection, a senior health department official said. Meena is admitted in a private hospital and his condition is stable, he said. "His test report came out positive on Monday morning. He has mild symptoms," the official said. Till Sunday, Goa reported 31,958 COVID-19 cases and 401 deaths due to the disease.
Thailand’s Covid-19 task force, which is chaired by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha, agreed to extend a nationwide state-of-emergency for one more month through Oct. 31, according to Deputy Premier Wissanu Krea-Ngam. The move, which needs Cabinet approval, will be the sixth extension since Thailand’s first order in March. The task force also approved a special tourism visa that will be effective from Oct. 1, according to Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn.
As part of its drive against those found not wearing masks in public places, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has, so far, collected Rs 52.76 lakh in fines from 14,207 people since April, officials said.
Of the total amount, Rs 1.9 lakh from 9,218 people has been collected since September 13, when the civic body reduced the amount from Rs 1,000 to Rs 200, while simultaneously cracking down harder on defaulters as cases in Mumbai were rising. Between April and September 12, when the amount was Rs 1,000, the BMC collected Rs 33.68 lakh in 4,989 instances. Most defaults were reported from R-South, which comprises of areas from Kandivali, which incidentally have the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the city. As many as 1,331 people were fined the R-south (Kandivali) ward, and Rs 6.07 lakh was collected from them.